


A Christmas Story

by allysonandrews1982 (FonzFan82)



Series: Mystery Inc. 2nd Generation [2]
Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, Death, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-04 23:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FonzFan82/pseuds/allysonandrews1982
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the first story in the Scooby Doo 2nd Generation series. Kylie Jones - Blake and Danny Blake are spending Christmas with the gang. Would their friend Ryan Anderson have a happy Christmas?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the introductory to both the McCareys and Mystery Inc. 2nd Generation. I hope you like them so if you do, you can keep reading the others that are on here Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Kylie called Fred in Washington at that moment and he answered the phone. He was reading the morning newspaper.

“Hi, Kylie,” Fred said. 

“Hi, Fred,” she said, and broke into tears.

He could tell she was worried. 

“Kylie, sweetheart, what’s wrong? Why the call?” he wanted to know, not understanding what was wrong. 

She was crying even harder and could not answer Fred’s questions. 

“What happened to my brother? Is that why you’re calling me?” Fred asked, sensing something happened to Fred. 

“Yes, something happened to him,” Kylie said, still crying hard tears.

He was having trouble understanding her words on the phone, but his doorbell rang. He put the phone down and it turned out to be the McCareys. They invited him to breakfast that morning. 

“I’ll be over soon, Mrs. McCarey. I am on the phone with my niece. I cannot understand a word she is saying. Will you help me understand what her words are? She’s crying so hard,” Fred told his neighbor. 

“What is your niece’s name?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“Kylie Jones. She’s my brother’s daughter,” he told her. 

“I’ll do my best to make the words out,” she said and she followed him into the kitchen.

Fred and Mrs. McCarey were on the phone again. Kylie was still in tears. Fred told her he had a neighbor over and he couldn’t hear a word she was saying because of her teardrops.

“My neighbor is Shirley McCarey, Kylie, sweetheart, and she’s going to help me understand what you’re saying, because I can’t understand one word you’re saying,” Fred told his niece. 

Kylie was okay with that, but still in tears. Mrs. McCarey had no trouble understanding Kylie’s words at all, but took her time telling Fred what she was saying. There was a knock at the door when Kylie was going to spread word about Fred’s being in a coma.

Fred told Mrs. McCarey he was going to answer he was going to answer the door. It was Don McCarey, wanting to know why they weren’t at the apartment eating breakfast with him.

“My niece is on the phone, and I’m having trouble with her words, Mr. McCarey, so that’s why your wife is on the phone, telling me what my niece is saying,” Fred said. 

Mr. McCarey told Fred to take his time with the call from his niece and the meal could wait a little while longer. Mrs. McCarey was having no problem with the words Kylie was saying. Fred joined Mrs. McCarey again and asked what she had made of his niece’s words. 

“She’s saying something about your brother’s being in a coma,” Mrs. McCarey said.

“What!” Kylie heard him scream at the top of his lungs. 

He took the phone from Mrs. McCarey and started to talk to Kylie, who calmed down a little from all the crying she was doing. 

“Did Freddy really go into a coma, sweetheart?” Fred asked her. 

“Yes, Uncle Fred. That is why I am having a hard time telling you. I know you go through a hard time with this kind of news and dealing with Grandma Jones’s death at the same time,” Kylie said. 

“I’m not over that yet. We haven’t even set up a funeral date yet,” Fred said. 

“Let me take care of that now. We do not know if Dad will come out of a coma or not yet. That answer will come later,” Kylie said. 

“Should I fly out and be with you and Freddy?” Fred asked. 

“I’d like that,” was her answer. 

“I will fly out right after I am done eating breakfast,” Fred told her. 

“Okay. Sounds fine with me,” she said, her nose sniffling a little. 

“Your father is the only brother I’ve ever had and I don’t want him to die. If he dies, I die,” Fred told Kylie. 

“I know how close you two are, Uncle Fred, but one of these days Dad won’t be around you anymore and you have to start looking after yourself,” Kylie said. 

“Who will I talk to when I when I have a problem? Whom?” 

Kylie did not have an answer to his question, so she let him cry his heart out a little bit longer. Fred thought he would skip breakfast and that morning and fly straight out to Milwaukee and be with his family because of Fred’s condition. He and Kylie said good – bye and hung up. The McCareys were still there, trying to cheer him up, but nothing worked. Mr. McCarey got the word from his wife that Fred’s brother was in a coma.

“Fred, come here,” Mr. McCarey said. 

He was still in tears and went up to Mr. McCarey and he gave Fred a big hug. 

“I don’t want to eat breakfast this morning,” Fred told the elderly couple. 

“That’s all right, Fred. We know how you feel about your brother,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“I want to catch a flight to Milwaukee when you’re done eating,” he said to the couple.

Right We’ll drive you to the airport when we’re finished,” Mr. McCarey told Fred and headed to their apartment. 

“Poor Fred, Don. Now his mother has died. Do we know if his brother is going to make it or die?” Mrs. McCarey asked while they ate their pancakes. 

“I don’t know, Shirley. We will find out from Fred. It’s only three weeks away from Christmas,” Mr. McCarey said, pouring syrup on his pancakes. 

When his pancake was gone, Mr. McCarey took Fred’s plate and finished them. Fred finished packing his suitcase and decided to wait to make a phone call to his brother’s friends while in Milwaukee to tell Daphne and Shaggy about his brother. He had enough clothes for three weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

Kylie was on the phone with Fred’s doctor, getting the latest on Fred’s condition. 

“Will he make it or die in that coma?” Kylie asked. 

“We don’t know that answer yet, Ms. Jones,” Dr. Johansen told her. 

“Did he wake up at all last night when the paramedics took him in?” Kylie asked. 

“No.” 

She saw that the clock in the kitchen now read 9:15 a.m. Meanwhile, back in Washington, Fred waited in the living room for the McCareys to finish breakfast so they could take him to the airport so he could catch a flight to Milwaukee. Tears were still running down his cheeks, but harder than they were earlier when the McCareys were around. Fred almost did not hear the McCareys enter his apartment because he was busy remembering all the times he and Fred had when they were younger. He cried the whole trip to the airport, thinking that Fred had already died in the coma without his saying good – bye to his brother. His hand with his suitcase in it started shaking as hard as it could that the suitcase fell and landed on the ground. 

“Don, carry his suitcase for him,” Fred heard Mrs. McCarey say to her husband. 

“I was planning to do so, Shirley. What is wrong with him? Try to calm him down before hundreds of people are watching us,” Mr. McCarey told his wife. 

“I’m trying, but it isn’t working,” she told him. 

Mrs. McCarey opened her purse and handed Fred a tissue. The Kleenex did not work. Hundreds and thousands of people were watching, so Fred had an audience.

“Does he need a therapist?” a mother of five children asked Mrs. McCarey. 

“We don’t think so, ma’am. I am trying to calm him down, but this time it is not working. My husband and I don’t know what he’s thinking,” Mrs. McCarey said to the woman.

Fred was crying even harder than before that he could not even speak, still thinking that his brother had died. 

“What flight is he on?” the husband of the woman who asked about the therapist. 

Mrs. McCarey gave out the flight number to him. 

“That flight already left, ma’am,” the man told her. 

“We just arrived, but we thought we were on time, sir,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“We’re thinking it was because of this scene he’s having,” the husband told the McCareys. 

There was a doctor around the airport, so he told the McCareys were with Fred, so he decided to look and find out what was going on. The audience of the airport had left when the doctor showed up to look at the McCareys and Fred. He introduced himself to the McCareys. Mrs. McCarey told the doctor about Fred’s identical twin brother, Fred’s being in a coma and how Fred reacted to the news. The doctor did his best to give Fred a shot to stop crying so he could hear his side of the story. Fred used a clean Kleenex and tried to talk, but found it hard, so he hiccupped while talking. 

“I’m thinking my brother might be dead!” Fred screamed at the top of his lungs. 

He said loud enough for the whole airport to hear. 

“We do not know that for sure, Fred, sweetheart,” he heard Mrs. McCarey tell him. 

“First my mother dies in a nursing home, and now my brother ends up in a coma. How would you feel if this happens to you?” Fred screamed. 

The doctor told the McCareys that Fred needed to see a therapist. He gave a therapist’s name to the McCareys. They promised they would give that therapist a call. 

“You can start seeing a therapist next year, Fred. For right now, you can be with your family,” Mrs. McCarey told him. 

They put his baggage with the rest of it in the luggage claim and they watched him take off in the airplane.


	3. Chapter 3

Fred tried his best to stay quiet the whole plane ride to Milwaukee, but it was no use. When the plane was in the air for the first ten minutes, tears poured down his face again and he stayed crying the whole flight. The flight attendants saw he was in tears when the first ten minutes of the flight and reported from one of the passengers. 

The passengers had recognized him as Fred Jones’s twin brother or had thought it was the same Jones. The passengers on the plane could not concentrate on what they were doing at all during the flight because of the scene Fred was making. Every flight attendant on the airplane was there, trying to help Fred calm down, but it was no use at all. He wouldn’t do any of the things the flight attendants had suggested to him, so the tears kept coming down his cheeks harder than they did back home earlier that morning and than they were when he first arrived at the airport in Washington. He knew that if Fred had died in the coma, he would be lost without his brother because he knew how close they were from the time they were born from until today. 

Kylie sent for one of her daughters to pick up Fred at the airport once he called for a ride. 

“Does Uncle Fred know about Grandpa?” Heather asked Kylie. 

“Yes, he does. He didn’t like what I told him,” Kylie said. 

“Did Grandpa ever tell you that he and Uncle Fred were inseparable?” Daphne asked.

“Yes, Daphne, several times,” Kylie said. 

“I’ve never heard of twins being inseparable,” Claudia said. 

“Maybe some pair of twins are inseparable, Claudia. My father and uncle are,” Kylie told her daughters. 

“What will Uncle Fred do if Grandpa does die in the coma?” Daphne asked. 

“We don’t know,” was Kylie’s answer. 

Fred opened his suitcase at the luggage claim and saw that there was a note from Mrs. McCarey to Kylie about what happened at the airport in Washington. He kept it in his pocket so he would not forget to give it to her. He took his luggage, walked to the nearest pay phone in the airport, and called Kylie at home. She answered on the second ring. 

“Hi, Uncle Fred,” she said.

“Hi. I’m ready for a ride,” he said, with a hiccup. 

“I’ll tell one of my daughters to pick you up because your room is almost already,” Kylie told him. 

“Okay,” he said. 

He did not mention the note from Mrs. McCarey quite yet. 

They got off the phone. He waited in the men’s room while his ride was on its way. He did not want one of his great – nieces to see him like that, so he tried to clean up his face to get the red off, but it was no use. Heather showed up, but did not see Fred in the airport, but found his luggage waiting. She took it with her and asked any of the waiting passengers for their flights if they had seen Fred Jones. One of them had told her that he was in the men’s room but had not come out. 

He guessed that one of the girls were there to pick him up, so he left the men’s room and headed to find his luggage, but saw Heather with his luggage. 

“Hi, Uncle Fred,” Heather said. 

He could not find any words until they reached her car. He waited a minute longer for words until they put their seatbelts on and she started the car. 

“How’s my brother?” were his first words instead of hello. 

“We haven’t gotten any new news since this morning, Uncle Fred, but we’ll try again in a few minutes,” Heather told him. 

She saw how red his face was. 

“He can’t die, Heather. If he does die, I can’t live,” Fred said. 

“Uncle Fred, we’ve been talking about you two earlier and how you would react if he does die,” Heather said. 

“That’s your answer. I would not live myself if my brother does die. I can’t live without him!” Fred said and tears fell down again. 

“Whom am I going to when I have a problem, Heather? Freddy was the one who solved all my problems for me until today, Heather. If he ever did die in that coma and I did have a problem, whom would I go to for a problem? Huh?” Fred asked. 

“You have us. We’ll be there for you,” Heather told her great – uncle. 

“That’s not the same, Heather. You do not have the answers your grandfather did. That’s why I go to him.” 

The tears were coming down harder than they did than before. She gave him a Kleenex, but that did not seem to help. 

She parked the car in the driveway and he blew his nose. She opened the trunk and carried his suitcase for him. There still was no mention of Mrs. McCarey’s note until they walked inside. 

“Heather, I almost forgot to tell you that there’s a note from my neighbor,” Fred said. 

“About what?” Heather wanted to know. 

“It’s for your mother to know that.” 

He handed her the note, but he took it out of his shirt pocket. 

“I’ll give it to her. I think your room should be ready by now. I’ll go check,” Heather told him. 

He sat down on one of the chairs in the kitchen with a shaky hand. 

“Mom, Uncle Fred’s here. He wanted me to give you this note,” he heard Heather say to Kylie. 

“I’ll look at it in a minute. I’m almost done with the room,” he heard Kylie’s voice say. 

Heather decided to help Kylie with the rest of Fred’s room, which was the guest room. While dusting the room, they both heard him downstairs in the kitchen knock the kitchen table down to the floor! 

“What is he doing down there?” Kylie asked her daughter. 

“Have no clue, Mom. Should I go find out?” Heather asked.

“Yes. Please. He might hurt himself,” Kylie told her daughter. 

Heather went downstairs and found Fred attacking the kitchen. 

“Uncle Fred, stop!” Heather yelled at him. 

He heard her voice yell at him, so he put the fourth chair down. 

“What the heck are you doing?” Heather asked her great – uncle. 

“I think Freddy’s dead, Heather,” Fred said. 

“We don’t know that, Uncle Fred. Is that why you’re attacking the kitchen?” 

“Yes.” 

She had him sit on the couch in the living room so he would not attack any more things in the kitchen. 

“I want you right here when I come down again. I mean it. What would Grandpa do if he saw you doing this kind of thing?” Heather asked him. 

“I don’t know. He’s not even here to see this.” 

His voice was trembling now. 

“Try washing your face again, Uncle Fred. It looks horrible,” Heather told him. 

“I did try that, but it didn’t work.” 

“Try again. It might get off your face this time,” she said, going to the linen closet and handing him a washcloth. 

She went back upstairs to tell Kylie what Fred had done to the kitchen. 

“Why was he doing such a thing?” Kylie asked. 

“He thinks Grandpa Jones is dead.” 

“What did you tell him?” Kylie asked. 

“I told him we don’t know for sure,” Heather said. 

“We should make a call there again once your sisters come over for dinner again this week, but I’ll call there tonight and find out, but I’ll wait to make that call once your uncle’s in bed,” Kylie said. 

“Great idea. The first thing he asked me when I picked him up was how Grandpa was,” Heather said.

“He should know that. Three weeks until Christmas and Dad’s not even here,” Kylie said.

“Hope we can have Christmas with Grandpa again this year. We had better do it for Uncle Fred. This means a lot to him. Did you read that note yet?” Heather asked. 

“Not yet, but I will.”


	4. Chapter 4

Fred saw a train station five miles close by. He walked five more miles. He saw a bathroom near him and got in there and put his suitcase down in the stall and thought about going on a train and go as far as the train could take him. He had been away from Kylie’s house for over ten hours so far. He walked out of the men’s room and his suitcase in his right hand and asked for a ticket for the train. 

“Where are you going?” the man asked Fred.

“I don’t care, as long as the train takes me,” Fred said in a sad voice. 

He got on the train and waited for the train ride to begin. Kylie and the family put posters of Fred all over the neighborhood and everywhere in town so if anybody had seen him.

“Are you still thinking of suicide, Kylie?” Hank asked her. 

“Yes, Hank. If the police don’t find him soon, he would have been dead or something,” Kylie said. 

Patsy saw the flyer of Fred by the office when her lunch break was over. 

“Gosh, they are busy with this search,” Patsy said to herself, helping her boss worry about her uncle’s disappearance.

People had heard that Fred had committed suicide in Milwaukee, even passengers on the train. They had thought it was the same Fred from the gang with Scooby Doo and another Fred who had died in a coma Sunday night, but it was the other way around. One of the passengers reported to the officer in charge of the train that they had seen Fred in the car. He reported it to the station about the suicide. She answered the phone herself. 

After getting off the phone with the Louisiana police, she was excited. 

“Guess what! Guess what!” she said to her family members who were present. 

“What?” they said at the same time. 

“The police found Uncle Fred!” Kylie said with a smile on her face. 

“Where did they find him?” Heather asked. 

“The Louisiana police found him and reported to the police out here. They said he was on a train,” Kylie said. 

“It looked like Canada,” Kylie said. 

“Canada? Why would he go there? He doesn’t know anybody out there, for Pete’s sake!” Peter said. 

“We know that, Peter. He has never made a trip to the other side of the world alone like that. He’s too shy for that kind of thing, but he might have gone with us,” Kylie said.

“Somebody help me talk to Uncle Fred when the police bring him here,” Kylie said.

“Who knows what’s on his mind?” Hank asked. 

“True, Hank, but we need to get information out of him. He does not talk much. Funeral plans are made for Grandma Jones and Dad already, so I don’t think he should go to the double funeral,” Kylie said.


	5. Chapter 5

The police brought Fred back to the house where the whole family was waiting. 

“Uncle Fred, how could you do such a thing? You made us worry,” Kylie told him. 

Kylie and the family thanked the police for bringing Fred home safely. 

“Our job, Ms. Jones,” the deputy said. 

“You could have died!” Kylie told him. 

“I wanted to die, Kylie. Since my brother is dead now, I might as well do the same thing.” 

“Your life isn’t over yet. You still have time left,” Peter told him. 

“Why did you leave a note like this? You know we love you just the same as my father, Uncle Fred. You know that,” Kylie told him. 

“You don’t.” 

“Uncle Fred, it is hard when someone you love passes away like that. You have to respect that,” Daphne told him. 

“Whom am I going to when I have a problem? He was the only person that could solve my problems!” Fred said, tears coming down hard. 

“Didn’t Grandma and Grandpa Jones solve those problems when Grandpa was solving mysteries or crimes?” Claudia asked. 

“No! They did not know how to solve them. Your father was the only person who could. Now he’s gone and I don’t have anyone to go to!” Fred screamed and tears were coming down harder than the first time. 

“Fred, I heard a joke at the bar the other night. Do you want to hear it?” Hank asked.

“No. I want my brother!” was Fred’s response. 

He was not in the mood for jokes. 

“Go ahead and tell the joke, Hank. It might work,” Kylie told him. 

“Okay. Let me think on how it works.” 

He was quiet for a while so he could get the joke into his head. 

“Okay, Fred, here’s the joke. You might think it is funny but here goes. One of my customers told us the joke. It’s funny,” Hank said. 

“I hate jokes,” Fred told Hank. 

“The joke goes like this: A man goes to a store and asks for a haircut, and what does the clerk tell him? The answer he gets is ‘you are in the wrong store, sir. You are in a fast food restaurant. If you want a haircut, go to the haircut place,’” Hank said. 

The rest of the family was laughing and Hank too. Everyone but Fred was laughing, including Fonzie and Chachi. 

“That’s funny, isn’t it, Uncle Fred? Tell another one,” Kylie said to Hank. 

“That’s the best joke I’ve heard for years,” Peter told Hank. 

“Yeah, me, too. I’ll have to tell that customer thank you for telling me that joke,” Hank said. 

“I hated it,” Fred said.

“Hey, Fred, I’ve got another joke, but this one’s a knock – knock. Do you like those?” Peter asked. 

“Those are childish,” Fred said. 

“Tell it,” Chachi begged. 

Peter made it up and made everyone laugh again, including himself and Hank until they could not laugh anymore. Fred was the only one not laughing. 

“Keep the jokes going until Uncle Fred is laughing. This is a good start, Hank. Glad you thought of it,” Kylie said. 

Everyone took turns telling jokes until there were no more jokes to tell. The jokes did not work on Fred’s moods at all. He wanted his brother the most, not jokes. He walked away from the family members during Daphne’s inside joke and walked to his room upstairs. They did not notice that he had walked out on them. 

Fred pulled his reading glasses from his suitcase that brought back into his bedroom and wanted to read for a while. He did bring a book to read while on holiday vacation, but did not get a chance to start it, so he brought it out of his suitcase besides his reading glasses. The book was nonfiction one, so it was a few years old. He saw the copyright was a few years old, so he did not care how old books were. He did love to read because of the job he had at the bookstore many years back. He would read the books that first came out when they first published and he and his coworkers would recommend the books to each other. 

He remembered the first time he got reading glasses when he and his brother Freddy first turned eighteen years old and they graduated from high school. He first got them before he moved to Washington. They were the only pair of glasses he’s owned, so his eye vision was perfect for the rest of the time, so he didn’t need glasses for the rest of the time, like driving and stuff. He heard the family downstairs ask where he was, but by that time, Fonzie and Chachi were gone for ten minutes. He heard Kylie’s footsteps come up the stairs. 

He had been in the book for twenty pages so far when nobody had been bothering him. He was reading about science in the nonfiction book. He heard a knock on his door. He carried the book in his hand and went up to get the door. His glasses were still on, so he did not bother to take them off. 

“There you are, Uncle Fred. We were wondering where you were,” Kylie said. 

“May I come in?” she asked. 

He let her in the bedroom without saying anything. 

“You made us worry sick about you when you disappeared like that,” Kylie told him. 

The door closed. 

“I did that because of Freddy’s death, Kylie,” Fred said. 

“We thought it was suicide, but thank goodness you didn’t kill yourself. We know you’re not that kind of person to do that kind of thing,” Kylie told her uncle. 

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Kylie. I just want to know whom I am going to when there’s a problem,” he said. 

“Don’t be silly, Uncle Fred. You have us. We are family. You know that.” 

“Your father was the only person who could solve my problems. Mom and Dad sure did not know how to solve my problems because it was not in their areas. They did try, but your father was the only person who knew the answers. If you guys try, you’ll see what I mean,” Fred told his niece. 

“What kind of book is this you’re reading?” Kylie asked him. 

“A science book. It is somewhat still new. A few years now. I just started it. I checked it out of the library before I came out here,” Fred told her. 

“I seem to remember Dad telling me you used to have a job at that bookstore in Washington where you lived,” Kylie said, remembering what her father told her. 

“For several years. Cashier,” Fred told his niece. 

“Dad never gave me the name of that bookstore you worked for,” Kylie told Fred.

“Waldenbooks,” Fred told her. 

“Is that why you’re reading a lot?” Kylie asked. 

“Yes. I’ve read thousands of books during my years of working at that bookstore.” 

Hank and Peter left with Daphne and Heather so they could be in time to pick up the kids from school. They told Claudia to tell Kylie good – bye for them because the kids were going to be out of school in a few minutes or so. 

"Right. I’ll tell her,” Claudia said.


	6. Chapter 6

“Uncle Fred, I am sure Dad would want us to take care of you when he died,” Kylie told him. 

Fred knew that, she was sure. 

“I already made funeral plans for your mother and Dad,” Kylie told him. 

“When are the funerals?” Fred asked, wanting to know so he could go.

“You mean double funerals, Uncle Fred. We are doing two at the same time. It makes sense to do both at the same time, you know. We’re waiting to do it when the holidays are over,” Kylie said. 

“I want to go,” he said sadly. 

“I got your neighbor’s note about what happened at the Washington Airport. I am already thinking it is a bad idea to go to the double funerals, so you should stay home, after what you did at the airport. May I have your neighbor’s phone number in Washington and talk to your neighbor and find out more about that story in the airport?” Kylie asked.

“If you really want to know more about it, go ahead. They are an elderly couple, a few more years older than I am, Kylie. Their name is McCarey,” Fred said, giving out the number. 

“Thanks, Uncle Fred. Those things happen. We all do it,” she said. 

She had the McCareys’ phone number written down after he had given it to her. She went down the stairs again after closing his bedroom door. 

“Where did everybody go, Heather?” he heard Kylie ask his niece. 

“They left because the kids get out of school soon,” Heather said. 

“That’s right. I almost forgot. I was talking to Uncle Fred. It looked like he was reading because he had his reading glasses on,” Kylie said. 

“How long has he had reading glasses, Mom?” Heather asked. 

“Since he and Dad were eighteen,” Kylie said. 

“That’s several years ago. I wonder why he didn’t go to public school like the rest of us did,” Heather said. 

“I can’t answer that right now, Heather. I need to make a phone call to his neighbors in Washington about that accident he had in the airport when he was coming out here,” Kylie said. 

“Why do you need to know about that?” Claudia asked. 

“I want to know why he ran away from us,” Kylie said. 

She dialed the McCareys’ phone number, but it turned out they were out, so she left her name. Fred went to his desk and went back to his book when Kylie left the room. He read for several hours that afternoon, but took the night off from the book. He was pretty much into the book when he called for supper. 

“What were you asking, Claudia?” Kylie asked as she put the phone down again. 

“I wanted to know why Uncle Fred didn’t go to public school like the rest of us did,” Claudia said. 

“That. He does not do well in public as most people do. His shyness does it, Claudia. He’s got a disability with people skills,” Kylie said. 

“Oh.” 

“How did he get a high school diploma, then?” Claudia asked. 

“Home school, Claudia. He did try public school when Grandma and Grandpa first adopted them, but it didn’t work out, so the teachers suggested he do home school,” Kylie said, remembering what Mrs. Jones had said about Fred’s education. 

“Is this why he never married?” Claudia asked. 

“Right. His people skills were still the same by the time Dad married Hossena, so he did not want marriage. His people skills were still horrible, so he never dated a girl or was around one in their lifetime together,” Kylie said. 

“Can he try doing that now?” Claudia asked. 

“No, it will never work, Claudia. He’s too shy and quiet for that.” 

When dinner was over that evening, the phone rang. Kylie answered it and found out that the McCareys were returning her phone call. Fred helped Claudia with the dishes while Kylie talked with Mrs. McCarey about Fred’s scene at the Washington Airport. 

“What were you doing these last few hours alone, Uncle Fred?” Claudia asked when he was washing the dishes and she dried them. 

"I like to read,” Fred said. 

“I don’t read much at all, except for the newspaper. That is about the only time I have for reading. I’m busy with my job these days to read a book,” Claudia told him. 

They heard Kylie ask a question about the doctor being there. 

“Uncle Fred has a disability with public places, Mrs. McCarey,” Fred heard his niece say on the phone. 

“Who is Mrs. McCarey?” Claudia asked. 

“My neighbor in the apartment building I live in Washington. I’ve known them since I was eighteen,” Fred told Claudia. 

“Are you older than they are?” she asked. 

“No. They are a few years older. We grew old together.” 

“Yes, Uncle Fred did worry us sick when he did run away. I do not know how many hours he went missing, Mrs. McCarey. He said he did that because of Dad’s death. He was diabetic,” they both heard her say on the phone. 

“Oh, my goodness. I am sorry to hear that. Fred was shocked when he heard about your father’s being in a coma, Ms. Jones. He would not calm down at all when we were at the Washington Airport. He was screaming and crying at the top of his lungs at the same time. Doctor tried to give him a shot, but I guess it must have worked. May I speak to Fred to say hello?” Mrs. McCarey asked. 

“He’s right here in the kitchen, helping my single daughter with the dishes, but if he’ll speak, I’ll give it a shot.” 

Kylie put the phone down for a minute or so. 

“Uncle Fred, Mrs. McCarey is on the phone and wants to say hello. She heard on the news and in the paper about the disappearance,” Kylie told him. 

“I’ll finish it up, Uncle Fred. Go say hello,” Claudia said. 

Fred thought about it before going to the phone. 

“Okay.” 

“Hi, Fred,” Mrs. McCarey said, hearing Fred pick up the phone. 

“Hi.” 

“How was your flight to Milwaukee?” Mrs. McCarey asked him. 

“Horrible. That shot did not work. I was screaming the whole flight,” Kylie and Claudia heard him say on the phone to Mrs. McCarey. 

“Don and I thought it did work to keep you quiet, Fred. Guess it didn’t,” she said.

“Fred, Mr. Groiske came by and wanted your rent money. I told him you were on holiday vacation, so we paid your rent money for you. Hope it’s okay,” Mrs. McCarey said. 

“Go ahead. I can’t pay rent like this when my brother’s dead.” 

“We understand that, Fred. Don wants to say hello,” she said. 

Mr. McCarey took the phone from his wife and he and Fred spoke for a few minutes.

“Everything is in good hands at your apartment, Fred,” Mr. McCarey said. 

“I don’t care about anything else, Mr. McCarey. I want my brother back,” Kylie and Claudia heard him say. 

“You can’t have him back, Fred. You have to live without him for a while. Life is like that. He lived a long life with you. You two were inseparable. You are the only one left now. Time to look after yourself,” Mr. McCarey said. 

That was all the advice Mr. McCarey had for Fred.

“I want my brother back because I don’t have anyone to solve my problems for me. Nobody can solve them but him!” Fred said to Mr. McCarey. 

“Shirley and your family and I can help you, Fred. You know that,” Mr. McCarey said.

“You don’t have the answers like my brother did,” Fred said. 

“That’s right, Fred, but everyone had different answers to different problems,” Mr. McCarey told him. 

“My brother knew how to handle me like some other people who didn’t.” 

He talked to Mr. McCarey for a while longer, then they said good – bye and hung up. Fred turned the TV on and he watched three favorite programs for a couple hours. Claudia stayed for a while longer. 

“Mom, another question about Uncle Fred,” she said. 

“What’s that?” Kylie asked. 

“After getting his high school diploma from home school, did he go to college?” Claudia asked. 

“He did, but only through home school,” Kylie said. 

“Oh. Were his people skills still the same?” she asked. 

“Yes. That’s why he was in home school since Grandma and Grandpa adopted them,” Kylie said. 

“Is this why he made a scene at the Washington Airport?” Claudia asked. 

“One of the reasons.” 

When his programs were over, Kylie went into the living room. 

“Can we talk?” Kylie asked. 

“Sure,” he said. 

He turned the TV off with the remote control. 

“I spoke with Mrs. McCarey about the airport trip,” Kylie said. 

“I heard.” 

“I explained to her you’ve had this disability since you and Dad got adopted when you were both thirteen years old. I know you cannot help that. We see your behavior in restaurants there is fine because you don’t talk at all except when you order your meals,” Kylie told him. 

“I hate the public, Kylie. I do not know what is going to happen when I get to heaven. It might be the same way it is there like it is down here on Earth,” Fred said. 

“We don’t know that, Uncle Fred. We will not know that until we get there. Look, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Jones are already up there,” Kylie said. 

“I always stayed away from church because it’s a public place, Kylie. I thought I would not do well in Sunday School and stuff and sing with other people. That’s why we Jones never went because of me,” Fred said. 

“You could still go and listen to the music and singing and the pastor speak about the Bible, Uncle Fred. That’s the least you could do about your disability,” Kylie told him.

“No. I like staying away from church because of thousands and thousands people around. I don’t like that many people,” Fred said. 

“Well, we’re going to the Christmas service this year and we’d like you to try to go at least once,” Kylie told him. 

“No.” 

“We will make this deal with you, Uncle Fred. You can come, but you do not have to sing. How about it?” Kylie asked. 

“No. There are millions of people there, he said, getting shy already.

“Please? Do it for Dad,” she said. 

He thought about it went ahead with it and said okay. 

“Uncle Fred, the part of going to church with us on Christmas Eve is that you don’t make a scene at all,” Kylie said. 

“I can’t help it.”


	7. Chapter 7

Kylie thought it would be a surprise for her daughter to see Fred in church.   
It was only a couple days to Christmas, so she made him promise again on Christmas Eve about the deal they made. He did not promise, but went along with it. 

“If you do make a scene in front of the church, we’re going home,” Kylie told him as they put their jackets on and headed for the car. 

“Who is the pastor at the church you go?” Fred asked. 

“Daphne is. That is her job. She’s been interested in preaching since she was five years old,” Kylie told him. 

“It wouldn’t hurt you to see someone in the family preach in front of millions of people,” Kylie said. 

That was the only thing Daphne didn’t know was Fred’s being at the church that evening.  
“Did you bring anything dressy, Uncle Fred?” Kylie asked. 

“No.” 

“That’s okay. You can borrow something from Dad.” 

He followed her to Fred’s bedroom, she opened the closet door, and they looked at all the suits Fred had kept in the closets for all those years. 

“Tonight’s service starts at eight o’clock,” Kylie told him. 

She thought Fred’s red suit for the holidays would be perfect on her uncle. 

“This would look good on you, Uncle Fred. Dad wore this every Christmas and wore it with a green tie. Now you can wear it in Dad’s memory with the same green tie. Where did that tie go?” Kylie asked, searching through Fred’s tie drawer. 

“There it is,” she said, finding it. 

“Don’t you like this outfit, Uncle Fred?” she asked, handing him the outfit. 

“It’s okay, but I wouldn’t know until I try it on,” he said. 

“The people at the church are really friendly. Trust me on this,” Kylie told him. 

“Not if you’ll stay with me,” he told her. 

“Don’t be silly, Uncle Fred. Of course, we will be with you. The kids are going to be there with Hank and Peter and Heather, but you’ll get to see Daphne up in front of everybody,” Kylie said.

“I can’t do that kind of thing,” Fred said, already freaking out. 

“We know that, Uncle Fred. People will be thinking that you’re my father who’s at church with us,” Kylie said. 

“But they’re thinking wrong once they see me there,” Fred said.

“We will them you are Dad’s identical twin brother,” Kylie said. 

“That’s how we are. Look alkies,” Fred said. 

They ate dinner together at seven; an hour before they went to the holiday service at the church Kylie and family belonged. 

“How long is the service?” Fred wanted to know while eating their meal. 

“A couple of hours, so don’t spoil it for us, Uncle Fred, okay? We want to sing the songs and listen to the children do their part on the stage and stuff,” Kylie said. 

When they finished eating, they went up to the stairs to get dressed and comb their hair. Kylie took a little bit longer than Fred did because she wanted to make her hair a little bit fancier. The phone downstairs rang while she was putting final changes on her hair. Fred heard it, so he answered the phone. 

He answered it the professional way. He spoke to Hank. 

“Fred, we’re on our way to church. Tell Kylie we’ll see her there,” Hank said. 

“Okay.” 

They got off the phone. 

“Who was that, Uncle Fred?” Kylie called from her bedroom. 

Fred walked up the stairs and walked to the bedroom. 

“Hank. Said they’re heading to church and would see you there,” Fred told her. 

“Okay. They do not even know you are going to be there. Thought I’d keep it a surprise for the family,” Kylie said. 

“You can go by yourself, Kylie. I can stay here and watch Christmas shows on television. I won’t mind staying alone for a couple hours,” Fred told his niece. 

“No. You are still going because of the deal we made. Part of the deal is in Dad’s memory,” Kylie told him. 

She grabbed the keys and was ready to leave. 

He followed her to the car and started the car. Once the car started, she drove off to the church that was on Main Street. 

“We’re here now, Uncle Fred. I bet some of them are here already. Let’s go and say hello to the family,” Kylie told him. 

“No.” 

He watched a group of young adults walk. They looked like they were in their thirties. He heard them laughing and talking as they went into the church. 

“Come on, Uncle Fred. It is just the family you are going to say hello to,” Kylie told him.

“It’s a big crowd in there. I don’t know anyone there and I don’t need to meet anyone else,” Fred said. 

“You never know unless you get inside. Now!” Kylie said and took his hand and locked the car and they walked inside. 

He grew shy the minute they saw Daphne at the door greeting people. 

“Hi, Mom. Uncle Fred, hi!” she said, surprised he made it. 

“What’s so bad about coming, Uncle Fred? You’re already seeing someone you know,” Kylie said. 

“I thought Uncle Fred was staying at the house tonight, Mom,” Daphne said after saying hello to a few more people that walked in. 

“I talked him into coming after making a deal,” Kylie said. 

“How did he agree to come?” Daphne asked. 

“He didn’t agree to come, Daphne. I wanted him to come so he could see you preach,” Kylie said, “and it was part of Dad’s memory to wear this suit.” 

“Grandpa always wore that suit every Christmas holiday. I really like that suit on you, Uncle Fred,” Daphne said. 

“You’re already getting a compliment,” Kylie told Fred. 

She wanted to say hello to the other church members before sitting down. She saw Shaggy and Daphne, her father’s friends, with their children. 

“See that Fred’s brother is here,” Shaggy whispered to Daphne. 

“I do too. Thought he hated public places. Let’s ask why he’s here,” Daphne whispered back. 

“Maybe after the service, Daphne. It is about to start,” Shaggy whispered back. 

“Right.” 

Kylie spoke to another friend of hers named Martina. 

“Hi, Martina,” Kylie said. 

“Hi, Kylie. Hi, Mr. Jones. Glad you could make it after what happened to that coma,” Martina said to Fred. 

“Wrong one, Martina. Dad died in the coma. This is his brother, Fred,” Kylie said. 

“Two men that have the same name? Interesting,” Martina said. 

“I know, but they’re identical twins,” Kylie said. 

“Why don’t you introduce us, Kylie?” Martina asked. 

Kylie tapped Fred on the shoulder. He turned around shyly. 

“Uncle Fred, this is a friend of mine. She wants to meet you,” Kylie said. 

He gave her the shyest look that said no. He acted as if he could not even talk when Kylie introduced them to each other. 

“He’s nothing like your father, Kylie,” Martina said, noticing the quiet in Fred. 

“Uncle Fred, can you say nice to meet you to Mrs. White?” Kylie asked.

He said it so quietly that Kylie or Martina could not hear it. 

“Uncle Fred, we can’t hear what you’re saying. Speak a little louder so we can hear you,” Kylie told her uncle. 

He said it again, but more quietly this time around. 

“Still can’t hear him, Kylie. Sorry. Is he deaf or something?” Martina asked.

“No. His hearing and eyesight are perfect at ninety, Martina. He has a disability that is all. Has had it since he and my father were thirteen.”

“Oh.”

It was now time to start the service, so Kylie and Fred took a seat up front with Hank and the children.

During the first hour of the service, Fred started making a scene like the one he did at the Washington Airport. People were staring in Kylie’s direction. People began to wonder why Kylie’s father had changed since he had gotten out of the coma. Hank and Peter were doing their best on helping Kylie quiet Fred, but it was no use, so the four of them left the room so he could quiet down. 

“Kylie, go back there and enjoy the program. Peter and I will handle Fred. We’re men, you know,” Hank told her. 

“He’s my uncle, guys. I have known him all my fifty – four years. I should handle him. If you want to hang around and help, that will be great. I don’t know what’s going on,” Kylie told them. 

They could not figure out Fred’s noisiness for fifteen whole minutes, so Peter suggested Kylie take Fred home. 

“Good idea, Peter. I guess we will have to miss the rest of the service. I hate doing that. I thought this was a good idea Uncle Fred see Daphne up front in a million of people,” Kylie said. 

“It didn’t work out, Kylie. The rest of us will catch up with you when the service is over so we can have our own family celebration. See you at your house,” Hank said. 

“What time? Are you going to see the Christmas lights afterwards?” Kylie asked. 

“We might do that, but we’ll find out later,” Peter said. 

She and the men said good – bye and as she and Fred headed to the car. 

“I really didn’t appreciate that, Uncle Fred. You knew what our deal was and you broke it,” Kylie said, not very happy. 

Fred quieted down once they drove away from the church. 

“You made the whole church look in our direction and everyone on the stage stare at us. I do not like that. You acted like a child,” Kylie said. 

She kept that up until they parked in the driveway. He did not say anything, but was glad to be back at the house. 

“I wanted to sing carols with the church and hear the children do their part, but you ruined everything,” Kylie told him when they were in the house. 

The service was over an hour later. Daphne was up in front of everyone again when they finished singing “The Christmas Song.” 

“I have only one announcement to make, so everyone stay seated before I let you go before Baby Jesus’ birthday tomorrow,” Daphne said. 

“The announcement is that there is no service next week because my family is holding a funeral for my grandparents, Fred and Peggy Jones, since they had both died in the recent week. We would appreciate it if you would pray for our family especially my grandparents that have recently died. My grandfather, Fred, had died in a diabetic coma Sunday night. He was ninety years old and Grandma Peggy died of old age in a nursing home in Los Angeles,” Daphne said, “so we would appreciate it if you did come to the funeral service for the two of them next week on Tuesday afternoon at one o’clock in the afternoon. That is all and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”


	8. Chapter 8

In their apartment, Kylie and Danny were putting up the Christmas decorations on the tree they had recently gotten the other day.

"I would say this is a nice tree, wouldn't you think, Danny?" Kylie asked as she put a star up at the top of the six feet, green pine tree.

"Yes, Kylie, sweetheart. I talked with the girls earlier today," Danny said as he watched Kylie push her long, blonde hair out of her face and get another decoration from the box.

"What did they say? Are they coming for Christmas?" Kylie asked.

"No, they aren't, actually."

"Why not? You know it means a lot to have the girls home for the holidays," Kylie told him.

"I agree. Daphne has to preach Christmas Day, so that's why she can't come out here. Heather invited Claudia to go to her Christmas party her business is having Christmas Day, so that's why the girls couldn't make it."

"Oh, well. Maybe next year they could make it. I talked to the gang and they're not going anywhere either," Kylie said.

"Good to know. Maybe all of us could get together then," Danny suggested.

"That's what Plan B was for me, Danny. Ryan's been upset lately because he thinks Lauren won't live longer," Kylie told Danny.

Ryan Anderson was their friend for a few years now. He had married a pretty girl for almost eighteen years now. The problem with Lauren was her health. She had been diagnosed with diabetes. That's why Ryan worried a lot. He even worried about their two children, Keith and Linda.

Danny didn't like hearing this kind of news but he did feel bad for their friend. Lately, his sister, Jessica, had been at his house helping out with Lauren and watching Keith and Linda. Danny and Kylie both knew their youngest daughter, Daphne, had been praying for Ryan's family.

Danny and Kylie decided to take a break on the tree. They could see tons of snow coming down outside. The temperature for that Thursday afternoon was 17 degrees.

"It's really coming down, isn't it?" Kylie asked.

"You bet."

That's when they heard the phone ring.

Kylie answered it. At this time of year, with Christmas was coming and the snow was starting to arrive, Kylie didn't have many clients coming to her law firm, so she closed up the firm for the holidays and told her secretary, Patsy she was free to celebrate the holidays but if she heard anything from a client she would be home.

Danny watched as Kylie put the phone back in the cradle.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"It was for you. You were supposed to fix a toilet and sink in 403," Kylie told him.

"Great. Let me find the plunger first. Do you know how many toilets and sinks I have fixed?" Danny asked as he left to find the plunger.

"I don't want to know," she said.

After finding the plunger, Kylie watched him leave. Kylie had on one of her favorite outfits that day: a purple T - shirt that had a couple of cheetahs running after one another. She was wearing black stretch pants with white socks. Danny liked her in both pink and purple. He thought she looked cute in those colors.

While he was in 403, the telephone rang. Kylie answered and found out it was their friend, Ryan. He was upset when she answered. He was in tears and she could tell something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Ryan?" Kylie asked.

"Lauren's in the hospital," Ryan said, crying.

"That's too bad. I hope everything will turn out okay," she reassured him.

"I don't think so. She looked like she was going to die," Ryan said.

She could tell this was sounded serious.

"Do you want Danny and me to be with you?" 

"No, that won't do any good," he answered.

He heard his cell go off.

"Hold on, okay?" he said, tears still going.

She stayed while he checked his cell phone. He got a text from Jessica saying that Lauren passed away.

"Jessica texted me and Lauren died," Ryan said.

"I'm sorry," Kylie said, feeling bad for her friend.

"Now Christmas is a holiday I'm going to drea forever," Ryan said.


End file.
